Nightingale Informatix Corporation, an application service provider (ASP) of Electronic Medical Record (EMR) software and related services and ExpeData, LLC, an innovative Ohio software company and global leader in digital writing, announced plans to launch “Clinipen”, an EMR-integrated digital writing solution. Clinipen will be available in Canada in March 2012 and in the United States by August 2012.

Clinipen will enable EMR software providers to deliver an integrated digital writing solution that healthcare providers can use to input structured data into a patient’s EMR directly from paper. The solution leverages the EDW® digital writing platform from ExpeData along with Anoto® digital pen and paper technology and Vision Objects’ industry-leading handwriting recognition technologies. Nightingale’s leading web-based EMR, Nightingale On Demand, will be the first solution seamlessly integrated with Clinipen.

“Nightingale is committed to innovation and making the transition from paper records to EMR as seamless as possible for physicians,” said Sam Chebib, President and CEO of Nightingale. “We believe Clinipen is a major breakthrough in EMR data entry, as it allows healthcare providers to continue using paper forms to document patient encounters and write prescriptions. We believe integrating ExpeData’s digital writing technology with Nightingale On Demand position both companies as clear technology leaders in the North American EMR market.”

In Canada, it is estimated that more than 60% of physicians are still using paper-based records.1A recent independent survey conducted in the US indicated that only 34% of healthcare providers use a comprehensive EMR system, while 16% indicated using a partial system. 29% of respondents indicated that they are evaluating solutions, while 20% indicated that they have not yet started the adoption process. 2

“The seamless integration of the Clinipen digital writing technology with Nightingale On Demand provides healthcare providers with a familiar alternative to using a computer to input patient data into their EMR,” said Brandon Major, Vice President and COO, ExpeData. “Unlike other digital pen products in the market place, Clinipen leverages the power of templates and intelligent handwriting recognition to allow users to continue to use paper as an input method, populating Nightingale’s EMR with structured discrete data. We believe this will make the transition to EMR much more appealing to a large segment of Canadian and US healthcare providers.”

In May 2011, Nightingale and ExpeData announced a joint venture agreement for exclusive distribution rights for the Clinipen technology products for the EMR industry in North America. Each company will maintain 50% ownership. Clinipen is the first product being launched as a result of the joint venture. ExpeData and Vision Objects are part of the digital writing investment portfolio held by Myrian Capital, a private equity firm focused on emerging technology businesses.

“Through this first Clinipen product, we are removing the obstacles to EMR adoption by making the solution user-friendly for those healthcare providers who continue to use handwritten paper-based records,” said Paddy Padmanabhan, CEO of ExpeData and Managing Director of Myrian Capital. “They can now seamlessly transition to an EMR while maintaining the same processes across their healthcare organization. This provides groundbreaking potential to accelerate EMR adoption.”